First Man Page #5

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trying to make sense of the mysteries

that surround him.

One of the greatest is about to be revealed.

It's here.

This savage beast appears in some dry

seasons to take lives.

It is a huge creature.

They must prepare to fight.

They are defeated.

They save whatever they can.

In a few hours, the fire

has destroyed their world.

Their camp has gone up in smoke

and the herds have deserted the landscape.

But Homo erectus is about to make a discovery.

What is that powerful odor?

What are these mouth-watering smells?

An animal has been trapped in the fire.

Its flesh is still good and has a delicious taste.

This is perhaps how Homo erectus discovered

this remarkable property of fire

to cook food.

As well as the taste, they will soon notice

that the meat is easier to chew and digest.

And what about those awful roots?

Cooked they are delicious.

They require 16 times less energy to digest.

An amazing discovery.

Cooked food will allow us to reduce the size

of our jaw muscles and develop our brains.

We will walk with a lighter

step and think clearer.

Our brains will become high-powered machines

capable of associations,

constructed thoughts, and new emotions.

It is likely that the aesthetic sense

developed at this time.

Shapes and lights elicited new sensations.

We were affected by the beauty of the world.

They are all dreaming about that delicious food,

but lack the key ingredient.

Fire.

If only they knew how to obtain it.

That one looks more and seems alone.

Maybe they can capture it.

Another group.

They have captured the beast.

Technology.

In this new world nothing is more important.

They are ready to fight to obtain it.

They could fight, but the young chief

has a different idea.

His clan know how to control fire.

The other has a greater skill in working

hides and accessories.

This period saw the first instances of trade.

Through objects, the techniques that go with them

travel between clans.

A new era for humanity.

The exchange of knowledge.

Thanks to traditions and language,

knowledge accumulates and the

spread of skills accelerates

over vast distances.

From now on everything will move a lot faster.

No wonder the use of fire appeared so

suddenly and across the entire world.

The young chief is attracted to this woman.

Her face stirs something in him.

At this point in our history,

the first real couples begin to appear.

Selecting, desiring, and seeking

intimate moments alone.

Aesthetics now play a role

in sexual relationships.

Bodies are covered in colors.

Styles, decorations to arouse.

Sexuality brings people together,

but something else is happening.

A story of bonds that build and grow and last.

The story of love is still being told.

The domestication of fire changed the lives

of the first humans and gave them warmth,

protection from insects and predators,

cured their ailments, illuminated the dark,

sharpened the points on their spears,

made them stronger.

But the greatest advance was in

the domain of speech.

Thanks to the development of our left brain

and a small evolution in the throat,

the larynx, our speech became so articulate

that we could evoke the past,

speak of the future,

recount stories,

imagine.

The old woman is a storyteller.

Who are we?

Where are we from?

She tells the story of these people

and their exploits.

These tales give meaning to their lives.

Perhaps it is this that makes us human.

The first man is the one that can tell his story.

Homo erectus will continue to populate the earth.

With their skills they will

adapt to every climate.

Different populations begin to diverge

genetically and give rise to new types of man.

In furthest China, Homo erectus would become

Beijing Man, a giant.

In Indonesia, Solo Man.

At his edges on Flores Island,

a tiny man of no more than a meter.

In central Asia, he is Denisova Man.

In the cold of Europe,

Homo erectus has become a Neanderthal,

a massive heavy man of incredible strength.

He can withstand extreme cold.

His skin whitens to better absorb

the weak sunlight.

His eyes and hair grow lighter.

In Africa, he becomes Homo sapiens,

and it is through him that the greatest

changes will occur.

At least six species of humans

populate the ancient world.

Each develops according to their environment

and creates its own culture.

But this multi-faceted humanity won't last long.

Homo sapiens will soon replace them all.

Around a 100,000 years ago,

Homo sapiens turned the world of man upside down,

invented more complex societies,

and proved more inventive in every area.

How will he go on to invent art, skill,

beliefs, magic,

writing, medicine and science?

His extraordinary imagination certainly helps,

but so does the knowledge accumulated

by his forefathers.

The Pierola, Toumai,

sediba, and Homo erectus.

They have left us a heritage of millions

of years of evolution,

one through the impulse to live

and a fierce desire to learn.

With this knowledge passed down through the ages,

this great dreamer gave rise to the diversity

of peoples today.

A hundred thousand years ago,

Homo sapiens left, just like his ancestors,

to conquer the world.

He left Africa and spread out across the globe.

He mastered navigation.

Crossed the seas and vast spacial expanses.

He traveled to Australia,

to America over the Bering Strait

and soon inhabited the entire planet.

He occasionally intermingled with those

that went before, but everywhere he went

the other species of man disappeared.

His appearance changed according

to climate and place.

His skin, his hair, the shape of his eyes.

From him arose a multitude of peoples,

all looking different,

but deep down the genes are the same.

Genes developed through

millions of years of evolution.

He is the father of the entire human race

on earth today.

He is the only human on earth,

but his presence shines with a million fires.

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